Low molecular weight compounds that direct microglia toward alternative activation

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This study revealed that a transcription factor IRF4 plays a key role in mediating intracellular signals in microglial cells leading to induction of alternative activation state, the tissue preservative/reparative mode of this immune cell population in the brain. In addition, explorative pharmacological evaluation, based on regulation of microglial activation, demonstrated stimulatory effects of several low molecular weight compounds on alternative activation. One of the compounds, which has natural origin, was newly found to possess neuroprotective properties on dopamine neurons whose degeneration is closely associated with Parkinson disease.